In his State of the Union Address last week, President Barack Obama focused on the importance of the nation’s infrastructure; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; and even made a reference to the power of building information modeling (BIM).

The President highlighted repairing our nation’s bridges and roads. Citing the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and the nation’s current grade of “D”, he called for America’s return as an international leader in strong infrastructure.

Strong applause came following his statement about the importance of science: “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” The President called for renewed attention to restore the country’s prominence in math and science education, including the preparation of 100,000 new teachers in the STEM fields.

During his discussion of innovation and the digital age, Obama recognized the role BIM can play in emergency management, “It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age…It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device.”

His speech also touched on other issues of importance to the building community, such as the government’s role in basic research, development of a clean energy economy, and the need for technical and vocational training.

The Institute sent a letter commending the President for his recognition of these important issues and offering support in the identification and implementation of solutions. View the letter.

Schwarzenegger Reappoints Winkel to California Building Standards Commission

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointed Steven Winkel to the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC). A member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors and building code consultant for The Preview Group, Winkel has served on the CBSC since 2000. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the International Code Council. Learn more about Winkel.

Conference Presentations Now Available Online

Missed a session at the Ecobuild America Conference while attending one of the National Institute of Building Sciences committee meetings? Don’t despair. Speaker presentations from the educational sessions are now available to view and download from the Ecobuild America website. Attendees of the conference can use their login and password to access presentations for free. Exhibit-only passholders and people unable to attend the conference may access the presentations for a fee. View the presentations.

Workshop Focuses on Seismic Standards for Existing Buildings

The Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) convened a workshop earlier this month to gain federal agency input on seismic safety standards for existing federal buildings. A BSSC expert committee held the meeting for representatives of the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC) January 13 at the National Institute of Building Sciences offices. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has charged BSSC to draft an updated version of ICSSC RP 6, Standards of Seismic Safety for Existing Federally Owned and Leased Buildings. Learn more about the workshop.  

Simplified Seismic Design Procedures Committee Launches 2011 Projects

Charged with reducing the complexity of existing seismic safety codes, the Simplified Seismic Design Procedures Project Management Committee (PMC) met in San Francisco on January 11 to review a detailed plan of action for 2011. The project was initiated in response to concerns expressed by engineers and building officials that the complexity of current code provisions is reducing the efficiency and reliability of seismic design, particularly for simple and small buildings. Based on its work during 2010, the PMC recommended three initiatives be pursued to develop simplified seismic provisions. Read the initiatives.

It’s not too late to submit an abstract for next year’s BEST3 Conference. The conference, to be held April 2-4, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia, will be organized as a series of sessions and seminars addressing critical issues of building enclosure performance.

Because ecologically designed enclosure systems are composed of so many interacting elements, the conference organizers would like to know what BEST3 participants see as the most relevant issues before finalizing the program. To this end, the conference’s scope will now include issues proposed by participants, as well as the topics already selected by the session chairs.

To be considered for a presentation at the BEST3 Conference, please submit a 300- to 500-word abstract no later than today, January 31, 2011. Read the submittal details.